Serving tray-receptacle combination



March 24, 1970 C. L. BOWMAN EI'AL SERVING TRAY-RECEPTACLE COMBINATION Filed May 27, 1968 INVENTOR. A o. .eameflmme .rz,

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United States Patent 3,502,042 SERVING TRAY-RECEPTACLE COMBINATION Clyde L. Bowman, 1544 Benjamin NE., Grand Rapids, Mich. 49505, and Dick 0. Rottschafer, Jr., 3716 Chamberlain, SE., Grand Rapids, Mich. 49508 Filed May 27, 1968, Ser. No. 732,439 Int. Cl. A47!) 37/00 U.S. Cl. 108--46 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An open-ended box-like or tub-like enclosure having a bottom wall, a top Wall, a pair of spaced sidewalls, and one end wall, with hook-like mounting means for attaching the enclosure to an auto or the like with the open end of the device adjacent the window of the auto, in Which the bottom wall is a fiat member which is generally horizontally oriented when the device is so attached to the auto so that such bottom Wall provides a support surface for serving dishes, food, and the like.

BACKGROUND It is a matter of common knowledge that society generally is becoming increasingly mobile particularly through the use of automobiles, and that businesses catering to and serving people remaining in their automobiles are rapidly increasing, both in number and in diversity. Of such businesses, there probably is none encountered more frequently or which has been on the scene longer than the drive-in restaurant.

As is well known, the food, beverages, and the like served by such restaurants are, in practically all cases, carried to the automobiles on trays which detachably mount adjacent the window opening of the auto. There are numerous undesirable aspects of this practice. For example, the food is fully exposed to the elements, and therefore hot dishes and sandwiches are subject to rapid cooling, even as they are carried to the automobile and also during all of the time they rest upon the tray prior to actually being consumed. Further, beverages served in conventional open-top vessels such as cups and tumblers are in no way protected from the dust and dirt of the parking area where the vehicles park, and autos arriving and departing almost always stir the air so that, even Without the presence of ordinary outdoor breezes, considerable dirt, dust, and the like is in the air at practically all times and is quite likely to contaminate such beverages.

Furthermore, the trays typically used in drive-in restaurants are merely flat devices with slightly upturned edges, and the empty and partially empty cups and containers, as well as the papers and other refuse remaining after the meal is consumed, create a decided problem in two different respects. Firstly, such papers, cups and the like are easily dislodged from the trays and create a continuous litter problem, both in the parking area of the restaurant itself and also in the immediate vicinity, where homes and other businesses are typically located. Secondly, in the busiest periods of business activity in the restaurants, the refuse-laden trays cannot be stacked or otherwise readily and easily handled, and the disorderly accumulation of such trays produces many attendant problems, including the breakage of glass or other containers such as cups.

SUMMARY The present invention provides a highly useful and extremely effective solution for the problem just noted. In accordance with the invention, a serving tray device is provided which shelters the food and beverages at all times and at all places outside of the restaurant building itself, thereby protecting the same from contamination by 3,502,042 Patented Mar. 24, 1970 dirt and dust and also greatly reducing the cooling effect brought about by 0ut-of-door temperatures and winds. Further, the device of the invention comprises a complete container for all items remaining after the food and beverages have been consumed, which is very easily handled and carried without any opportunity for spilling or breakage; further, the devices are readily stackable one upon another, whether empty or partially filled with food remnants and used containers, so that the problem of littering is substantially eliminated and the confusion and clutter during busy hours is greatly reduced, as is the required storage space prior to the time the devices are actually put into use.

Briefly stated, the device of the invention comprises an open-ended tub-like or box-like enclosure having bottom top, and side wall portions as well as a single end wall, all of which are preferably of sheet material having sufiicient rigidity to make the enclosure self-supporting and freestanding. The bottom wall portion is substantially fiat and provides a support surface for serving dishes, food, and the like, and the device has mounting means for releasably attaching it to an auto or the like in a position with the open end of the enclosure adjacent the window of the auto. In this position the aforementioned bottom wall portion is oriented generally horizontally, with the top, side, and end walls forming a protective canopy over and about all of the items resting on the bottom wall portion. At the conclusion of the meal, the device may merely be moved into a position with the open end thereof oriented upwardly, whereby all refuse remaining within the device slides onto the single end wall thereof. The device thus becomes a tub or box from which the soiled dishes and refuse cannot fall, and which lends itself to easy portability and storage until a convenient time arrives, it can be emptied and used once again.

DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective of a first embodiment of a device embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the device of FIG. 1, showing the same in actual use;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a pair of the devices of FIGS. 1 and 2, showing the stackability thereof;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing still another embodiment of the invention.

FIRST PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the serving tray device 10 of the invention illustrated in these figures comprises an integrally molded, open-ended, tub-like apparatus having a bottom wall portion 12, a top wall portion 14, and spaced sidewall portions 16 and 18. Also, the device can include a single end wall 20, the end oppo site the latter being open. This open end may be considered as lying in a vertical plane, and the bottom wall portion 12 is disposed generally perpendicular to this plane (FIGS. 2 and 3).

The device illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, is preferably an integral, one-piece structure which is molded from any of several suitable commercially-available polymeric substances referred to popularly as plastics, of Which polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride are merely examples. The Walls of the device 10 are, as illustrated, generally flat, sheet-like panels which, while being lightly or mildly flexible, are nonetheless relatively rigid and together form a sturdy enclosure which is self-supporting and free-standing, without any bracing or reinforcing structure. The aforementioned flat, generally horizontal disposition of the bottom wall portion 12 enables the 3 latter to serve as a support surface for serving dishes, food and the like, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

While the top and bottom wall portions 14 and 12, respectively, are disposed generally perpendicular to the sidewall portions 16 and 18, the top wall portion 14 is positioned at an angle with respect to the bottom wall portion, and the two sidewall portions are also positioned at an angle in relation to each other. This gives the device a generally tapered configuration, and enables it to be stackable in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3, wherein a second device 10' has been inserted into a first such device 10. This provides for easy storage of the devices, whether the same are in a clean condition in which they are ready for use, or whether they contain refuse or soiled dishes and require cleaning before they are to be reused. In the latter instance the stackable nature of the devices thus provides a most convenient storage facility for all of the various soiled dishes, wrappers and other such refuse remaining after a meal or snack has been consumed. In this connection, it is to be noted that in the preferred integrally molded construction of the device, the various walls forming the same are continuous and imperforate, and thus they are completely impervious to the passage of liquids and will conveniently contain the same. Consequently, cups and other containers need not be emptied prior to tipping the device to place its contents against its end or rear wall for carrying and/or stacking. Also, the preferred molded plastic construction provides a very rugged structure which will absorb practically unlimited amounts of shock and rough usage without suflering any significant damage.

It will be observed that a pair of booking fingers 22 are attached to the device 10, one at each of the sidewall portions 16 and 18. These elements provides a means for mounting the device upon an auto, in the general manner illustrated in FIG. 2, i.e., with the hooking fingers 22 fitting over the top of the partially-lowered window glass 24 of a typical auto door 26, in a manner generally known. In this mounting scheme, the forward edge 12' of the bottom wall portion 12 bears against either the glass 24 or portion of the door 26 to support the bottom wall 12 in its desired position. When the devices of the invention are stacked or nested together in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3, the hooking fingers 22 rest atop one another to maintain a slight separation or spacing between the corresponding walls and wall portions of the closely-adjacent devices, to thereby prevent jamming of one such device into another.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS Many of the advantages of the preferred embodiment already described can be attained by certain other structures departing somewhat in specific details. For example, in FIG. 4 a device 200 is illustrated in which an enclosure 205 is rested upon a bottom support means 210. In this configuration, the enclosure 205 may comprise a box-like structure made of paperboard or the like, which may be supplied in a collapsed or knocked-down form which can readily be assembled by means of a tab and notch arrangement or the like into the open-ended box illustrated in this figure. The bottom support means 210 may conveniently be a tray-like structure of metal mesh material or the like, with upturned front and rear rear edges 211 and 212 respectively, which help maintain the enclosure in its proper position. As illustrated, attachment means in the form of hooking fingers 222 are secured to the bottom support means 210 in this embodiment.

Using the configuration just described, it is contemplated that the enclosures 205 will be of extremely simple construction (such as the collapsible boxes noted previously), which, when of the preferred paperboard or like inexpensive material, become a disposable, single-use device. The bottom support means 210, however, is more sturdy and long-lasting, and is continuously reusable. In fact, since the enclosure 205 completely encloses the food dishes and beverages, the tray-like bottom support means 210 will not even become dirty in use, and will rarely if ever have to be washed. As in the case of the device 10 of the previous embodiment, however, the device 200 functions not only as the carrying tray and protective shelter for the food and beverages when brought to the auto; it also functions as a container and temporary storage vessel for the refuse and dirty dishes remaining after the meal has been consumed.

In FIG. 5, a second alternate embodiment 300 is illustrated. Basically, this device comprises an enclosure portion 305 which is a four-sided structure, i.e., it includes sidewall portions 316 and 318, a top wall portion 314, and one end wall 320. The floor portion of this embodiment comprises a tray-like member 312 having lateral edge extremities 324 which slide within an appropriately-shaped groove 326 formed in each of the sidewall portions 316 and 318, thereby forming a separable attachment between the bottom 312 and the remainder of the enclosure 305; that is, a slidable joint therebetween. The tray-like floor portion 312 of this embodiment is a rigid and imperforate panel, which when attached to the remainder of the enclosure in the aforementioned manner provides an open-ended container device much like those of the other two embodiments, already described, and which will function in much of the same way. In this embodiment, the enclosure may be made from a paper board stock, similar to the enclosure 205 of FIG. 4, so that it is very inexpensive and of a single-use or disposable nature. In both of the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, however, it will be apparent that the enclosures may if desired be of a more permanent construction, integrally molded of plastic or otherwise, so as to be reusable. In the latter event, it is preferable to taper or otherwise configure the sides of the enclosures so as to render them stackable or nestable, as in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

It is entirely conceivable that upon examining the foregoing disclosure, those skilled in the art may devise embodiments of the concept involved which differ somewhat from the embodiment shown and described herein, or may make various changes in structural details to the present embodiment. Consequently, all such changed embodiments or variations in structure as utilize the concepts of the invention and clearly incorporate the spirit thereof are to be considered as within the scope of the claims appended herebelow, unless these claims by their language specifically state otherwise.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A serving tray device for use in drive-in restaurants and the like, comprising: a unitary open-ended enclosure having fixedly interconnected bottom, top and side wall portions and a single end wall; a sutficient number of said wall portions being of sheet material having sufiicient rigidity to make said enclosure self-supporting and freestanding; said bottom wall portion being substantially flat and providing a support surface for serving dishes, food, and the like; and hooking arrestment means for releasably attaching said enclosure to an auto in a position with the open end of the enclosure adjacent and in juxtaposition to a window opening of such auto.

2. The serving tray device of claim 1, wherein said wall portions are of imperforate sheet material, such that the same are generally impervious to liquids.

3. The serving tray device of claim 1, wherein certain of the wall portions of said enclosure are disposed at an angle with respect to each other, such that said enclosure has a generally tapered configuration and is nestable into other such enclosures.

4. The sewing tray device of claim 2, wherein said 5 enclosure comprises a tub-like member having generally fiat wall portions.

5. The serving tray device of claim 4, wherein said tub-like member is of one-piece integrally molded construction.

6. The serving tray device of claim 1, further including a generally rigid bottom support means; said bottom wall portion of said enclosure supported upon said bottom support means; and said hooking arrestrnent means for releasably attaching said device to said auto or the like being secured to said bottom support means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,280,109 9/1918 Silverton 312-101 2,299,025 10/1942 McGinley 108-44 Pryor 312-138 Brown 108-444 XR Puls et al. 135-5 Dunnagan 135-5 Kost 211-86 Hittesdorf.

Delaire 211-74 Monaco et al. 220-17 Berg.

France.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner 15 GLENN o. FINCH, Assistant Examiner 

